Beyond Smallville 4 : Taking Sides
by Ultrawoman
Summary: AU Futurefic Sequel. It seemed like stalemate as RedKClark aimed a gun at Lex, and the only woman the millionaire ever loved, Chloe, aimed a gun with GreenK bullets at her friend, the superhero. But then, triggers were pulled, and sides were taken...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N : Almost 4 years since I started this series, I discovered the half-written final 'episode' on my comp and just knew how it had to end. For anyone who never read the beginning of this story or can't remember what went down, the first three 'episodes' can be found on my Profile page, numbers 113, 112, and 110 on the list, when sorted by 'Updated'.**

**Title : Beyond Smallville 4 : Taking Sides**

**Rating : PG-13**

**Summary : AU Futurefic Sequel. It seemed like a stalemate situation as RedK-Clark aimed a gun at Lex Luthor, and the only woman the millionaire had ever learnt to love, Chloe Sullivan, aimed a gun with GreenK bullets at her best friend, the superhero. But then, triggers were pulled, and sides were taken...**

**Disclaimer : All recognisable characters belong to DC Comics and/or WB, neither of which I am a part of.**

_**

* * *

**Previously on 'Beyond Smallville'... _

_"Tell me why I shouldn't just let him shoot you" she choked out and Clark smiled evilly. Lex swallowed hard before he replied, looking straight at Chloe now._

_"Because I'm sorry, more than I ever have been in my life and because... I love you"_

_If nothing else was to be believed, Chloe did believe that Lex loved her. The look in his eyes, the tone of his voice, it was true - she just knew it. He would not have done all he had for her if he didn't feel something for her, and she did know that she loved him too._

_"I love you too" she admitted, and Clark faked putting his fingers down his throat._

_"Please, shut up" he gagged, "how can you love him after what he's done?"_

_"Because I know he loves me too and if he has done wrong it has been for me" she said through further tears, "and he's not the only one who lied to me" she said coolly._

_Clark's eyes shone in a final burst of power from the red rock inside of him._

_"Enough of this game" he announced, levelling the gun at Lex once more and taking aim._

_"No!" Chloe screamed as the bullet left the gun and entered the man's chest._

Chapter 1

Lex and Clark both fell backwards, hitting the floor simultaneously on opposite sides of the room. Chloe dropped the gun in her hand with shock. She had just shot her best friend at the same moment that he had shot the man she loved. Her mind was in a whirl and she did not know where to turn until she heard a sound; a groan of pain from her left which she knew was Lex. The sound he made brought her out of her daze as she realised he wasn't dead.

"Lex!" she called as she ran round the desk and knelt beside him on the floor.

Clark had been sufficiently distracted by Chloe's shot that the bullet he had fired was badly aimed. Instead of passing through the target of his heart, the bullet had entered Lex's left shoulder and passed right through there instead.

"Lex, sweetheart, I'm sorry" Chloe cried, tears streaming down her face as she knelt over her bleeding boyfriend.

"You saved my life, Chloe" he choked out, severe pain hindering his speech, "You don't have anything to be sorry for"

"But I made him angry" she sobbed, "He wouldn't have done it if..."

"Shh" Lex whispered, putting his right hand up in her hair and trying to calm her, "I'll be okay" he promised, "Just help me up, please"

With some struggling, Chloe and Lex got up from the floor and she helped him into a chair by the desk. Next the blonde looked around for something to use for a bandage, but there didn't seem to be anything. Then she remembered Clark.

She glanced to the corner of the room and saw him lying there, seemingly dead, the red glow of the first bullet completely gone and a sickly green glow emanating brightly from the second.

Chloe felt nauseous just looking at him. She hadn't wanted him dead, just out of their lives.

'Well, even in death, you'll help us' she thought to herself as she walked over to Superman and tore roughly at his cape. A large piece in her hand, she went back to Lex and bound around the top of his arm and shoulder.

"Quick thinker" Lex said quietly, groggy from blood loss.

"For the bandage, or the shooting?" she asked and Lex looked up at her as she finished off his arm.

"Both" he told her, "You're an amazing woman, Chloe, even more amazing than I originally thought"

Chloe felt a hint of a smile pull at her lips. If nothing else had come good out of all this, Lex had told the truth and he loved her; she loved him too. Now it was all over and things could be put right, hopefully.

"You're not so bad yourself" she told him, hugging him awkwardly since he was sitting, she was standing, and his injured shoulder made it difficult.

"Should I call an ambulance or a doctor or something?" the blonde asked next, reaching for the phone.

"No" Lex stopped her, "we can't have anyone come in here, not with that over there" he explained, gesturing towards the fallen superhero with his head.

"So what do we do?" Chloe asked him, the reality only really starting to hit home now.

Clark was dead. Superman was dead. The body was in the room with them and she had killed him - both man and super-man.

"I have a private doctor I can call, he's discreet" Lex groaned as he pulled himself out of the chair, "but he can't come here"

He made his way over to the door and Chloe just watched him, shocked.

"Come on Chloe, we have to go" Lex urged her but she stayed rooted to the spot.

"You're gonna leave him there?"

"No" Lex said calmly, "_we_ are going to leave him there, temporarily"

Chloe swallowed hard as Lex picked up his jacket and struggled to put it on over his injury, he knew he couldn't go outside the office like this and raise suspicion. Chloe saw his problem and helped him with the sleeves and then glanced back at the body of her former friend.

"Lex, we can't just go and leave him like that" she told him, shaking her head.

Inwardly, Lex cursed. It would have been so much easier to do all this without Chloe involved. If he could have shot Superman he would have got more pleasure from it and he wouldn't feel half as guilty as she seemed to, but he loved her and she had saved his life. She was involved now, as deep as he was.

"I'll tell you what" said Lex thinking quickly, "I'll go, take the guns and get them destroyed" he explained in a low voice to Chloe who was listening intently despite the fact that her eyes were stuck on the body in the corner of the room, "I want you to lock the door behind me. There are only two keys to the office so unless someone knocks the door down I'll be the only one who can get back in. You stay here and when I get back we'll deal with that" he referred to Clark with a gesture of his right hand, the only one that moved without pain.

Chloe swallowed hard again and nodded her head.

"Okay" she whispered, "I can do this, we can do this"

Lex allowed himself a small smile and hugged her with his right arm, dropping a kiss on top of her head.

"Yes, we can" he promised her, "You're a very brave woman"

Lex wandered over and picked up the guns, the one fired by Clark and the one fired by Chloe. He put them into the inside pockets of his jacket and headed for the door.

"I love you" he turned and whispered, just before he closed the door.

"I love you too" Chloe replied, locking the door as instructed.

It freaked Chloe out somewhat to be in the same room, alone with the body of Superman, especially since she knew it was Clark too. Now Lex was no longer there her mind was racing. What would Lana say when she found Clark was dead? Did she know his secret? What about Pete? What about Mrs Kent?

"What have I done?" she said aloud, starting to break down into long awaited tears, shock subsiding, guilt and sadness and anger washing over her in waves.

Suddenly a sound came from the far side of the room and Chloe turned to see Clark stir - he wasn't dead.

_To Be Continued...  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N : So cool that you reader peops are enjoying this fic, despite the fact it's been almost four years since this series started - you guys all rock!**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 2

Instinctively, Chloe flinched and moved away from the sound. She backed up to the opposite corner of the room, afraid for her own life. If Clark was not dead she had one severely brassed off superhero on her hands.

"Chloe" he writhed in agony as he groaned and called her name.

The power of the red kryptonite bullet had been completely outweighed by the pain inflicted by the green. It felt to Clark as if he was burning alive from the inside out and he didn't know how to make it stop. He knew Chloe had shot him but he knew why too and he could hardly believe what he knew he had done.

"Chloe" he called again, "please help me, I'm sorry" he managed to say and Chloe realised the red kryptonite no longer had a hold on him. Superman and Clark were back the way they should be, back to being good.

She edged slowly around the room until she was standing over him as he continued to convulse with the pain in his chest. The green bullet glowed a sickly green as it sat, wedged in the flesh on the right side of his chest but not penetrating far enough to hit his heart.

"Clark" she said, her voice shaking and more tears falling as she knelt down beside him, "What have I done?" she asked rhetorically, putting her hands to her face.

"Chloe, please help me" Clark gasped for air and some kind of relief but there was none while the bullet remained in his chest, "Is Lex okay?" he added afterwards. He still was not a fan of his ex-best-friend but he never wanted him dead. That was purely the effects of the red rock.

"Lex will be fine" she nodded "What can I do to help you?" she wondered aloud.

"The bullets" Clark coughed, "they have to come out"

"How?" she glanced around the room for something she could use to get the bullet out and her eyes caught on a suitable device lying on the desk. She scrambled toward the table and then came back to Clark's side, a silver letter opener in her hands.

"You have to take the red one out first" he told her in a whisper, his strength was disappearing at a great speed.

"But it's the green one that's killing you!" she protested, leaning over to removed said bullet.

"No" he knocked her hand away, "Red first otherwise I could hurt you" he choked out an explanation and as Chloe hurriedly thought it through it seemed to make sense. Whilst the green bullet was inside him, the red had no effect but the removal of it would leave one nasty superhero again.

"Okay" she nodded, "I'll do the red one first"

She leaned over him with the letter opener clasped tightly in her right hand. Just as the blade was about to make contact she flinched and dropped it.

"I can't" she sobbed and Clark reached out his hand to grab hers.

"You can" he told her, looking her in the eyes, "I know you can"

Taking a deep breath, Chloe knew she had to do this. She picked up the letter opener again and aimed it toward the red bullet lodged in her friends chest. She thrust the blade in right beside the fashioned rock and began to lever it out. After a few seconds that seemed to last a lifetime it was out and Chloe ran over to the balcony to throw it out of harms way.

"No" Clark screamed painfully, "Don't!"

Chloe turned to look at him.

"I have to get it away from you" she told him.

"Just put it on the other side of the room it'll be fine" he promised and she did as she was told before hurrying back to kneel beside him again and repeat the process with the green bullet. Unfortunately the deadly substance had made a deeper wound than the first had.

"I can't get it out" she struggled with the blade in his chest and the tears in her eyes.

"You have to Chloe" Clark choked, more scared for what would happen to her if he died than he truly was for his own life. If he died Chloe would be a murderer and he knew she wouldn't be able to live with that. Plus who would keep an eye on her and Lex.

With a final twist and push of the blade, the green pellet of kryptonite popped from Clark's chest and Chloe was amazed to see the two wounds he had sustained become one. In fact by the time she had moved the second bullet to the other side of the room and returned there were no wounds at all, just two small holes in the fabric of Superman's costume, both piercing the large S that covered his chest.

"Are you okay?" the blonde cried over her old best friend as he spluttered and managed to pull himself up the wall to a sitting position. He nodded.

"I will be now" he said, "You saved my life Chloe"

"You've saved mine lots of times" she told him, "And I nearly caused your death, Clark I thought I had" she sobbed, throwing herself into his arms.

He held her close as she sobbed into his chest, which still ached from the punishment it had taken, but he was healing fast and he knew in a few minutes he would be as fit as he ever was. He also knew that wherever Lex had gone he would be back soon and probably not happy to see his ex-best friend and latest nemesis alive and well.

"It's okay Chloe" Clark comforted her, "I'm okay, but I have to go"

She looked up at him in disbelief.

"I almost killed you" she said, as if she'd only just realised it, "and you forgive me?"

"Chloe you did what you had to do to save Lex, the one you love" he admitted bitterly, "and besides, that wasn't me. Infected by red kryptonite, you of all people know that the person I am isn't me"

Chloe nodded.

"I know" she admitted, "but I'm still sorry"

"I know" Clark nodded, "but I have to go now, before Lex gets back"

She knew he was right, as she helped him to his feet. She also knew Lex would be far from happy to know she had saved the man of steel's life after almost taking it.

"I'd ask you to come with me" Clark sighed as they walked together towards the balcony, "but I know you'll want to stay"

"I love him Clark" she said simply and he nodded that he knew. As he stood by the edge of the balcony Chloe remembered something.

"I'm sorry about your cape" she said as Clark felt behind himself and realised a large section of the material was missing from his costume, "I had to bandage Lex's arm" Chloe explained.

"It's not important" he told her with a shake of his head, before getting ready to fly. He lifted carefully up off of the ground knowing he now had enough strength to make it into full flight, he turned in the air and spoke to the blonde below him before disappearing into the sky.

"If you need me, just yell, and I'll be here"

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N : So grateful for the continued support on this story which should've been finished almost four years ago! Clearly Chlex fics, and the love of them, never die ;-)  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 3

The key turning in the lock alerted Chloe to the fact that Lex was back. Despite the fact that she loved and trusted this man so much, she knew he would he angrier than ever before when he realised she had saved Superman's life. In all honesty, she was at least a little afraid of what he might do.

"Chloe?" he called as he entered the room and she ran to him, delaying the inevitable, as well as showing the relief she felt at having him back there with her.

His arm was bandaged, she noticed, and much more professionally than the job she had done, plus he seemed to flinch less from the pain.

"The doctor fixed my arm" he told the crying woman he held with his uninjured limb, "He gave me pain killers too, plus I got the guns destroyed"

"How?" Chloe felt she had to ask, Lex had not been gone all that long.

"There are ways and means Chloe" her lover told her, "Especially when you're a Luthor"

It was then Lex really noticed the lack of dead super-hero in the room.

"Where is he?" he asked, his body tensing against hers, and Chloe shook with fright she was unaccustomed to as he pulled away and looked her in the eyes.

"He's gone" she told him shakily, "he.. he wasn't dead" she stammered as tears coursed down her face.

Lex closed his eyes and breathed a deep sigh. He might have known she couldn't handle the guilt of killing her best friend, not like he could. She was not a Luthor, she had been brought up as a good girl, not half-man/half-monster like he was.

"You saved him" he said quietly and the blonde nodded, slightly less worried about Lex's reaction now, he seemed strangely calm.

"Come here, baby" he gestured for her to come back into his embrace and she did so, still shaking a little from her ordeal, "I understand why you saved him" he told her in a whisper, rubbing his hand on her back soothingly, "and I don't blame you, Chloe, I really don't"

"I thought..." she began, her voice breaking again, as she pulled back from him to look into his eyes "I thought... you'd be mad, I thought..."

"Please tell me you never thought I would hurt you?" the young Luthor asked her.

Lex was shocked but also pained that Chloe would ever think he could harm her. She didn't say a word but the way she glanced away from his gaze gave him all the answer he needed.

"Chloe, sweetheart" he said, lifting her chin with his fingers, "I love you, and I always will, and I could never hurt you. You mean the world to me"

"I love you too Lex" she cried, throwing herself at him and hugging him tightly, almost losing him had confirmed in her mind and her heart, just how much she really did love him, "but what do we do about... Superman?" she asked, choosing the hero's name over that of his alter-ego and her once best friend.

"We do nothing" Lex answered after a long pause, "after this incident I doubt he'll be bothering us again"

Chloe only hoped Lex was right. She did love this man but the thought of harm coming to Clark, anything happening to him like what happened today, she couldn't bear it. She only wished Lex and Clark could get along and be best friends as they used to be, but too many lies had been told, too many mistakes made, it was all too late. Chloe knew that by choosing Lex's side she now stood against Clark, despite the fact she had cared enough to save the Kryptonians life.

* * *

"I can't believe it" Martha Kent shook her head as her son finished telling her the events of the day over a cup of coffee, "Chloe was always... well, I know she was headstrong and willing to do whatever it took in any situation but, Clark she shot you"

"No, Mom, she didn't" he insisted, "She shot Superman when he was infected by red kryptonite. Don't you remember how Dad had to hurt me in order to save me that Summer when I disppered in Metropolis with that red ring?" he reminded her, "Chloe did what she had to do, and I don't blame her"

"Sweetheart" Martha's hand went to her son's arm as he looked down at the table, "Do you love her?" she checked.

She'd suspected something more than friendship between her son and Chloe for a while now. As teens it was well-known that the blonde had feelings stronger than simply friendship for the farmboy with the saviour complex. As they'd grown up together, gotten jobs together at the Daily Planet, Martha had started to suspect Clark was developing feelings for Chloe too. Perhaps she was wrong, it certainly seemed too late now either way.

"I do love her" Clark admitted, "but only because she's one of the best friends I've had in my whole life" he told his mother ,as her hand held on tight to his, "Mom, I know she loves Lex, and despite everything he's done and all the ways he's changed, I think maybe he really does love her too"

"I used to hate it when Jonathan judged Lex on his father's reputation" Martha admitted, "He seemed to have such potential for being a good person but... I guess it's true what they say about money and power, it leads down a dark path for most people"

"Who knows?" Clark shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe Chloe will be the one to light his way, make him a better person"

"Perhaps" his mother nodded, "But Clark, I think you have to prepare yourself for the fact that Lex might just lead Chloe too far down that dark road with him, so far she won't be able to come back"

"I know" Clark admitted with a sigh, "And I wish there was something I could do to stop that happening, but even Superman can't change what people feel. Nobody can stand in the way of love"

Martha knew that was true, and for once had no answer to give to the boy she'd raised as her only son, and loved as much as if she'd borne him herself. She wished things had turned out differently at so many points in this boys life. She wished his father hadn't passed away, that Chloe had never regained contact with Lex, that Clark's secret identity had never been so easily solved by the young Luthor, and that Lex had never turned into the worst possible person - a replica of his father.

"So, you think you can fix it?" Clark asked her suddenly, brekaing Martha's train of thought as he passed her his torn and spoilt uniform that bore the letter S the world knew so well.

"Sure I can, honey" his mother smiled, taking the costume from his hands, the one she had designed for him herself, "Won't take long" she assured him as she went off to make the necessary repairs.

Clark got up and walked over to the window, looking out at the farm he knew so well. Just a few miles away, Metropolis stood, buzzing with night-life, both legal and less so. Chloe was there somewhere, with Lex, the man that one had been Clark's best friend and had now become his worst enemy, dragging Chloe into his evil games too. Superman would have to face these people, put a stop to this feud once and for all. The next time a gun went off it might actually kill one of them; himself, Lex, or worse, Chloe. That could not be allowed to happen. It was not why Superman, or Clark, existed.

_To Be Continued...  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N : As late as it is in coming, I am proud to say that this story finally has an ending, and this is it...  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 4

Lex Luthor felt a familiar rush of air behind his leather seat as he sat at his desk one evening. His lips turned into a smirk, though he didn't turn to greet his uninvited, but entirely expected, guest.

"This is becoming a habit, Superman" he said, picking up his glass from the desk and downing the rest of his drink in one.

"One that ends here" the superhero told him as he came into view, newly mended cape swooshing around his legs, the holes that spoilt his S now unnoticeable as he folded his arms across his chest.

"You mean you won't be by to visit anymore" Lex checked, with a mock-surprise, his hand going to his heart, "I'm hurt. I thought we were friends... Clark" he addressed the man he abhorred by the name of the best friend he'd once loved like a brother, and it obviously surprised the Man of Steel enough to throw him momentarily off his game.

The fact was, Lex had spent months, years even, trying to keep Clark and Superman separate in his mind, even knowing they were actually the same man. It became increasingly difficult, first when he admitted he knew the truth, and later when he fell in love with Chloe.

Clark was Superman, and Superman was Clark. The clothes were different, the way the two men held themselves, even the way they spoke, but the look on his face sometimes showed all to clearly who he was, proved without a shadow of a doubt that Lex's best friend was his worst enemy too.

"I can't change the past, Lex" Clark in superhero garb told his old best friend, "Now I'm sorry I never told you the truth about me, and I'm sorry that you can't be all-powerful whilst I'm around" he explained, "but I'm not sorry enough to let you do whatever you want to Metropolis, to me, to Chloe..."

"Clark" Lex interrupted him as he got to his feet, "Let me tell you a few things that I don't think you know" the billionaire said as he came around the desk and stood toe-to-toe with the man in the cape and tights, "First of all, you can't stop me taking over this town, this state, this country, not in the way I plan to do it" he told him with a wicked smile, "Secondly, I no longer have any interest in ridding the world of Superman, if I had I never would have left Chloe alone with you" he shook his head.

"You knew she'd save me" Clark frowned as Lex walked away from him once again.

"I was also pretty damn sure she'd shoot you" his ex-friend admitted, as he looked out through the glass doors at the skyline, "Y'see Clark, Chloe knew the only way to save me was to potentially kill you" Lex explained, "If she did that, shot not only the world's hero but also her best friend, well, then I'd know she loved me as much as she said she did" he said, turning back around to face his friend-turned-nemesis.

"You were testing her" Clark shook his head in disbelief, "This whole thing was a game, a game that could've ended up with all of us dead"

"No" Lex assured him, "I had it all figured out, the doctor waiting in case you got a lucky shot at me, leaving Chloe alone with you, knowing she'd have to save you, because as much as she loves me Clark, and we both know she does, I'm afraid she'll always have that little teenage crush on the corn-fed farmboy" he grimaced.

"Everybody said that one day you'd turn into your father" Superman said, looking him over, "I never believed it til now. You're insane, Lex"

"Insanely in love" he shrugged, reaching into the top drawer of his desk and tossing something onto the surface, "With Miss Chloe Sullivan"

"What is that?" Clark asked warily as he eyed the small box on the table.

"I'll give you a hint" Lex smirked, "It's not a Lear Jet" he said seriously as he picked up the box and opened it, showing Clark what lay inside on a cushion of blue velvet.

"No" his old friend shook his head, "You're not serious" he said as he realised what he was looking at - one very large, very obviously expensive engagement ring.

"People in love get married, Clark, it's the way of the world" Lex told him, snapping the box shut with one hand and putting it into an inside pocket of his jacket, "Now if you'll excuse me I have a dinner reservation and a beautiful woman waiting for me"

Clark wanted to stop him, wanted to rush to the door at super-speed, grab this man by the shirt, and hurl him out a window. He wanted to hurt him, he wanted to teach him a lesson, he wanted to make sure that he never went within a ten mile radius of Chloe ever again. With all the powers Clark possessed he knew all this and more was physically possible, and yet, he would do none of it.

As much as Superman, and the man inside the costume, could dislike Lex or pity Chloe for being with him, forcing them apart wouldn't help them or the world. In fact, if he made threats about trying to remove Chloe from Lex it might just make him even more determined to have her. No good could come of any action Clark took right now and he'd never felt so useless in his life. Even kryptonite was less debilitating.

"Then there's nothing left for me to say" he told the billionaire's back as the two men prepared to leave via opposite ends of the room, "But Lex" he called suddenly and his old friend looked back at him, "If you hurt Chloe, ever, in any way" he said as he began to float off the ground, "There will be consequences"

Lex nodded once, a small gesture but it was all Clark needed. He knew how Lex worked, he'd known him years enough to be overly aware of everything about him. This agreement that had now been made was as real and binding as anything written on paper or signed in blood, and they both knew it.

As Clark, in his superhero costume, flew out into the sky and disappeared over the horizon, Lex thought of the deal just made. Never had he so quickly accepted an agreement, but where Chloe was concerned, it was simple. He loved her, like he'd never loved any other woman in his entire life, and he knew for certain now that she felt the same. He didn't want to hurt her, he couldn't, and now he would prove his commitment to her.

* * *

"Lex, is your food not good?" Chloe checked as they sat across from each other in the fancy restaurant and she watched him shift the contents of his plate around again without actually putting anything into his mouth.

"No, no, the food is fine" he assured her and she smirked.

"How do you know, you didn't even taste it yet?" she told him and Lex smiled.

"I trust this place, and your opinion of it, Chloe" he told her, "I'm sure if I felt up to eating it would be delicious but honestly, right now you have me feeling too nervous to eat anything"

"A nervous Luthor?" the reporter girl frowned slightly, feeling a little worried herself now, "Should I be proud of the effect I'm having, or scared because you're nervous for maybe the first time in your life?" she checked, "Lex, is something wrong?"

"No, Chloe" he promised her, "On the contrary, everything is finally right" he said, reaching his hand across the tale and taking hold of hers, "I just don't want to ruin what we have..."

"Lex, you can't ruin it" she interrupted, something that nobody else would ever dare do to a Luthor, and yet Chloe was different, and that was kind of the point, "You know I love you, and just so long as you love me..."

"Chloe, you know I do" he took his turn at cutting in this time and she smiled.

"Then how could you possibly ruin it?" the blonde wanted to know, feeling just slightly apprehensive but not letting it show as Lex reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small box which he laid before her on the table, "What is that?"

"Use your reporters instants, Chloe" Lex joked, "What do you think it is?"

They both knew what she thought it was, what she ought to know it was, and yet where Lex Luthor was concerned she almost always found she was surprised. She wasn't going to state her guess aloud and then look foolish, it was not her way. Reaching across the table, she picked up the small box and opened it, to reveal that which she had kind of been expecting, and yet was still shocked by the sight of.

"Chloe Sullivan" Lex stated her name as he came to kneel beside her chair, "Will you marry me?"

"Oh God" she gasped, tears filling her eyes as she looked down at him.

For all the times she'd imagined engagement and marriage with Clark or even Superman, neither of those men passed through her mind right now, only Lex was there. He loved her, she loved him, they'd proven they were willing to die for each other, kill for each other, there could be no bigger commitment than that.

"Was that 'Oh, God, yes', or 'Oh God no'?" he checked in a whisper as all other patrons of the restaurant turned their eyes on the young couple.

"Oh God, yes" she promised him, and with a grin the like of which barely ever graced the features of a Luthor, Lex look the ring from the box and slid it onto Chloe's finger before kissing her hard on the lips.

Applause went up all around them, and yet they barely noticed. They only had eyes for each other these days, Above everything and everyone else, they had chosen each other, they loved each other, and from here on out it was just the two of them... forever.

The End


End file.
